Business Law

Whether you are seeking assistance in choosing the right entity to form your business, or you are beginning to plan your exit strategy from the family business, there are many facets to running a business where getting quality legal advice is an invaluable investment, including in the areas of:

    • Establishing Company Policies

    • Purchase/Sale of a Business

    • Contracts Review

    • Exit Stages

    • Employer Law

    • Employment Agreements

    • Taxes

    • Business Litigation

    • Commercial Real Estate, including the purchase/sale of property, construction/renovations, financing, leases, entitlements, landlord/tenant matters, and foreclosure/eminent domain matters

If you run a corporation, we can facilitate your required annual meeting, develop the minutes from the meeting and provide our experience and insight into taking your business to the next level. Our team is also experienced in working with business owners in conjunction with their estate planning situation to keep the ideal exit plan in mind.

Running a business is a complex task and a trusted legal adviser can be integral in helping you secure success. We would be honored to work and strategize with you to secure your legacy. 

Testimonials

“We have been very satisfied with all aspects of dealing with GFJ. David has been there for us, through family deaths, business changes, mergers and acquisitions. Really, your attorney becomes an integral part of your family and business success. David has been there every step of the way.”

- Bob Dinsmore | CenCal Bev

“We appreciate that GFJ is readily accessible and provides relevant and logical advice. They made the process of incorporating our company a breeze. Additionally, they keep us on track and up to date with our annual corporate minutes.We recommend GN as the firm for business legal services.”

- Zeke and Lynn Bondy-Villa | B-V Insurance Services, Inc.

“GFJ has kept our firm on solid ground. They make sure we hold the required corporate meetings and keep the appropriate minutes. The daily operating of a business does not leave a lot of time to stay on top of these important items.”

- Tom and Dick Norquist | Tenney Norquist

“GFJ has provided us with legal services since 1995. They helped us structure our corporation and our family trust. Their advice has been invaluable.”

- Gary Smith | Modesto Transfer & Storage

“As a third-generation dairyman, I realize the value in successful succession planning. The GFJ team has been a valuable resource for our family over the years and will continue to be, as I look forward to seeing my kids and grandkids take our family business to new heights.”

- John Fiscalini | Fiscalini Farms

“GFJ has been invaluable in advising our family business from incorporation and as we’ve grown our freight brokerage company.”

- Kevin Poulsen | 50 State Freight Inc.

FAQ

Q: What is business law?

Business law encompasses the many rules, statutes, codes, and regulations that are established which govern commercial relationships and provide a legal framework within which businesses may be conducted and managed. Business law is highly diverse and includes areas such as:

  • business formation and organization
  • transactional business law (contracts)
  • business planning
  • business negotiations
  • mergers and acquisition
  • divestitures

Q: What factors should be considered in choosing the type of business form for my business?

Although there are many important things to think about when choosing a business form, some of the main considerations include your preference of tax treatment, how you intend to capitalize the business, whether you plan to issue stock and trade it publicly, how you intend to structure the management of your business and issues surrounding the liability of the business owners, among other things. It is very important to plan your business and to work closely with someone who can help you choose the business form that will meet your needs.

Q: What are some common issues that lead to disputes among co-owners of a business?

Disputes between business owners, whether they be LLC members, shareholders or partners are a common occurrence. They can involve accusations of breach of fiduciary duty, self-dealing rather than acting in the best interests of the company or issues related to the rights of minority owners. Our firm represents parties involved in all such disputes including conflict over poorly-drafted buyout agreements, executive/management compensation, appraisal rights and rights to dividends paid by the company.